last days

On our last full day in Stockholm, I was stopped in the street but someone asking directions. I was able to easily direct him to the biblioteket and point out Odengatan (our street). Now that I'm finally a local, it's time to go home.

düsseldorf

Our visit to Düsseldorf was too short and was made even shorter by the fact that Leah spent our first day there in bed with a fever. But she recovered soon enough to give us a chance to, among other things:

• explore the neighborhood which was the home of many shops and markets as well as cafes and bakeries and a local library
• visit Schloss Burg, a medieval castle about 45 minutes drive from Düsseldorf
• shop at an open air market where local farmers were selling fruits, vegetables, flowers and locally-produced honey, jam and different types of wurst
• go to the races (the adults did not bet but the kids rode ponies and got their faces painted)
• take a short walk to see the Rhein River
• and, of course, we made time to play in the neighborhood playgrounds (we found three within walking distance)

In case you're wondering, the trips to and from Düsseldorf were surprisingly smooth despite the many transfers and modes of transportation.

weekend in düsseldorf

The girls and I are off to a long weekend in Düsseldorf, Germany to meet up with an old friend. We were able to get a good deal on Ryan Air which is a British discount airline that offers dirt cheap flights throughout Europe. (I have heard it used as a verb as in, "His friends ryanaired over from London for the wedding...") Ryan Air flies out of lesser airports which means that we're in for a logistically interesting travel day. Our day will involve the following means of transportation:

• Subway from our apartment to the Central Station (2 stops)
• Train from Stockholm Central to Nyköping (1 hour)
• Taxi from train station in Nyköping to Stockholm Skavska Airport (7 km)
• Ryan Air flight to Weeze in Germany (1 hour, 50 minutes)
• Bus from the Weeze airport to Düsseldorf (1 hours, 15 minutes)
• Car from bus stop to my friend's house (unknown ... only a few minutes, I'm hoping)

Wish us luck!

kaknästornet

No visit to any city is complete without going to that city's highest point for a panoramic view. The views from the Kaknäs tower of Stockholm and the archipelago did not disappoint.

daylight

In the eight weeks we have been here we have seen the days get shorter. When we arrived in June, right after midsummer, it got dark around 10:30 and was light again by about 3:30 in the morning. (We know this because we were so jetlagged and were waking up at all hours.) Now it gets dark around 9:00 and the sun rises, according to one website I consulted, at 5:00.

tessinparken

During the summers there is an open-air market at Tessin Park where we bought a jar of Swedish Sea buckthorn (havtorn) marmalade -- we bought it out of curiosity more than anything. The park is also home of a fabulous sculpture called The Egg (designed by Egon Muller-Nielsen). Kids can climb in and out of the sculpture and go down and a small internal slide.

the tooth rooster

Anna lost her front tooth yesterday. But since the tooth fairy was unable to obtain a visa for Sweden, we had to do what Swedish children do. At bedtime, Anna put her tooth in a glass of water by her bed. In the middle of the night, a rooster came to take away the tooth leaving a few coins in its place.

ice cream

We eat ice cream so often here that it is no longer a "special treat." It also may be losing its usefulness as a bribe/reward. Today's ice cream was enjoyed at an outdoor cafe at the nearby observatory.

library revisited

The interior of the library across the street is quite striking. The other picture, taken from our living room shows Observatory Hill (note the familiar figures on the hill.)

sightseeing

One of the advantages of staying here for two months is that we can take in the sights at a leisurely pace. Here are some places we have visited recently:

• Hagaparken (pictured): a large nature area just a few bus stops from our apartment.
• Nordiska Museet (Nordic Museum): illustrates Swedish life through displays of everyday objects (an exhibit of footwear in the fashion wing, for example, includes everything from clogs and 19th century farm boots to Birkenstocks and tube socks).
• Tekniska Museet (Museum of Science and Technology): we met up with our Berkeley friends on a rainy day last week to go to this hands-on science museum similar to the Exploratorium in SF.

more on playgrounds

We have been able to while away many happy hours in nearby parks and playgrounds. In addition to the usual sandboxes, swings and slides, some of the playgrounds have climbing walls, trampolines, pedal-powered merry-go-rounds and a variety of tricycles. The bigger playgrounds have a building with a bathroom, an indoor playroom, and a small kitchen that has a refrigerator and a microwave. They even provide, for a small fee, coffee for parents and caregivers. There seems to be an on-site staff person who keeps an eye on the playground, brings in the toys at the end of the day and replenishes the coffee.

getting around

Mostly we get around on foot. Other means of transportation include:

• Bus: there is a stop right outside our building and we rarely need to wait more than about five minutes for a bus to show up. Kids ride free with a paying adult.
• Subway (or Tunnelbana as it's called): the Rådmansgatan stop is "our" stop. We don't really ride the subway that much. I prefer to see what's going on outside.
• Train: of course, we have to take the train to get out of Stockholm proper.
• Taxi: we took a taxi when we first arrived and once again when it was late and Leah was exhausted. Funny to see taxis that are Volvos and Saabs; we even saw a Prius taxi.
• Trams: there is a historic tram line that has been restored. We can pick it up right outside Keith's office. Probably -- like the SF cable cars -- only tourists ride it.
• Ferry boats: We took a 10-minute ferry ride from Gamla Stan (Old Town) to Gröna Lunds Tivoli amusement park on Djurgården Island. Stockholm sits on an archepeligo and sometime before we leave, I'd like to take one of those touristy cruises that goes along the Stockholm waterfront and the nearby islands.
• Bike: then, of course, there's Stockholm City Bikes (see our July 9 entry).

movies

Tried to go see the Simpsons movie yesterday but -- much to the kids' disappointment (and the parents' too) -- it was sold out. The megaplex we went to could have been plucked out of any suburb in the US complete with roving gangs of loud teenagers.

oslo scenes

We are back from Norway. We loved Oslo -- easy to understand why it was one of my dad's favorite cities. Here are some random pictures of our visit: outside our apartment at 15 Damplassan; the library at the University of Oslo (known as the "Black Pearl"); a ferry ride on the Oslo fjord; outside the Rådus (Town Hall) which was designed by Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson (often, apparently, featured in history of architecture textbooks); a statue known as "Factory Girls."

garden city

The flat we have been staying in is in a community/housing development known as Havebyen which translates to mean "Garden City." It was built during the 1910's to resemble an English country village. So here we are here in the heart of Oslo surrounded by gardens and lots of greenery; we can hop on the nearby subway and be downtown in about four or five stops. There is a small grocery store here and a bakery that has the best freshly baked breads and pastries (to be consumed with butter and gobs of freshly made strawberry preserves!). We are about a five minute walk from the University of Oslo.

vigelandsparken

One of the most impressive urban parks we've seen anywhere is the Vigeland Sculpture Park (Vigelandsparken) in Oslo. It is the home of hundreds of sculptures, created in the 20's and 30's, by Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland depicting the "humanity of life." Refreshing to see public art that doesn't represent royalty or some sort of military victory. Also nice that you can interact with the art ... the kids enjoyed climbing all over the sculptures. While tourists busily snapped pictures of all the art, the locals hung out on the grassy areas sunbathing, playing soccer and having barbecues.

fiskekaker

After spending the day at Vigeland Sculpture Park, our Oslo hosts prepared a delicious, traditional Norwegian dinner of fish cakes, boiled potatoes, and peas.

traveling

We are off to Oslo today. We'll take a train out of Stockholm at around 2:30 this afternoon and arrive in Oslo at 9 o'clock. A one-way ticket for an adult cost about $70; the kids' ticket, $1.50! The thing Leah is most looking forward to is buying food out of the vending machine on the train.

eating

Since we have a kitchen, and since Stockholm is so expensive (coffee and a couple of pastries will set you back about $10), we've mostly been eating in. Our meals are not much different than the same boring meals we eat at home even when cooking with unfamiliar brands and when I don't understand the list of ingredients on the packages. But we have discovered some new foods too. Some of the foods we have enjoyed or tried are:

• Swedish pancakes (already cooked and pre-packaged -- probably not as good as those made from scratch, I'm sure, but certainly convenient) served with lingonberry jam
  
• coarse breads, flat breads and crisp breads (you can find the Wasa brand in the States but there are so many more brands and so many more shapes and sizes here)
• sweet brown goat cheese (which is actually a Norwegian import)
• morning buns (the Swedish variation seems to be made with a hint of cardamon)
• müsli (eaten with Turkish yogurt, of course!)
• and, of course, I did buy a jar of pickled herrings but I think I may have been the only one in the family to eat any
  

We've already developed brand loyalty to anything made at the Saltå mill. They're the ones who make the müsli we like the best. They specialize in organic, whole grains (breads, pasta, even rice), nuts, juices, beans.

sunday in the country

Another escape to the country, this time to visit K's colleague and family in Trosa, a sweet town on the water. Many Stockholmers come here for a relaxing getaway. Some arrive by yacht. We took the train and then got a ride another 20 km or so to Trosa.

Shown here is the private pier the belongs to our hosts; a group shot in the town's central square (their two delightful daughters are 10 and 4); and, because I didn't make it into the group shot and because people are starting to give me a hard time, there's finally a picture of me (with L); there's also a picture of the waterway that goes from the sea into the heart of Trosa.

sunny day

Beautiful sunny day. What I thought was a random marching band turned out to be the changing of the guards which happens everyday around noon. Also heard (and saw) the canons that were fired in honor of Crown Princess Victoria's 30th birthday which is today.

day trip

Took a day trip to visit one of Anna's classmates who comes to Sweden every other year with his family to see his grandfather. Hopped on a train at Central Station and went to Läggesta (about a 40 minute ride) where we met up with our Berkeley friends. Visited the Gripsholm medieval castle in Mariefred. Then they took us to their house. They are staying in an old vicar's house at the Åker church. Kids got to pick berries, ride a bike around the church and even took a dip in the waters of the archipeligo. It was a welcome change of scenery to get out into the Swedish countryside after two weeks of urban living.

grocery shopping

There are several grocery stores within just a couple blocks of our building. We seem to go to the store on an 'as needed' basis which is just about everyday. Here are some observations we have made about the stores:

• some of the handcarts have wheels on them
• eggs are sold in cartons of ten
• they sell a salad dressing called 'Rhode Island dressing' (not to be confused with Thousand Island dressing which they also sell)
  
• the wide variety of crisp breads and flat breads take up about half an aisle
• two words: Turkish yogurt (yum! tastes like whipped cream and probably has just as much fat)
• you have to pay for your shopping bags so it pays to bring your own
• produce comes from places like South Africa, Egypt and Belgium